[Durham INC] Mayor Bell Invites Feedback on IBM Report for Engaging Durham's Youth

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

News Media Contact:

Beverly B. Thompson

Director

(919) 560-4123 x 11229

(919) 475-2362 (cell)

Beverly.Thompson at DurhamNC.gov 

Like: http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC 

Follow: http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC    

 

For Immediate Release: June 5, 2012

 

 

Mayor Bell Invites Feedback on IBM Report for Engaging Durham's Youth

Full Report and Video Now Online; Feedback Encouraged on New Facebook
Page

 

DURHAM, N.C. - The City of Durham is inviting public review and comment
on a plan submitted by IBM (NYSE: IBM) to improve the education, well
being, and job-readiness of Durham's youth.   

 

IBM's plan details steps that the City can take in coordination with
schools, workforce-readiness programs, and other public, private and
nonprofit stakeholders to better coordinate and measure the success of
their efforts. 

 

The recommendations include the creation of a Youth Opportunity Corps
that would create a centralized mechanism for identifying youth at risk,
refer those youth to the right resources, and ensure their long-term
success.

 

"As the first U.S. city selected by IBM for this study earlier this
year, I am pleased to share this important report," Mayor William V.
"Bill" Bell said.  "It is clear that we as a community are going to have
to work together to help our youth succeed in education, employment, and
life.  This report outlines a coordinated strategy to coalesce our
public, private, and non-profit resources for the future of our youth in
Durham," he said.

 

Bell said that at this point, public input is critical for the next
steps to implement the plan. To encourage feedback and discussion on
various aspects of the report, a Facebook page (
http://www.Facebook.com/DurhamYouthSucceeding) has been established. The
page provides links to IBM's report and to a brief video (
http://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=3F1bG9uQAz4) that chronicles the
challenges that local youth face.

 

According to Bell, community leaders will meet in the coming weeks to
assess what the next steps should be to take advantage of key
recommendations, including how to involve various community stakeholders
and organizations, especially youth.

 

The recommendations emerged from a study funded by an IBM Smarter Cities
Challenge grant, valued at $400,000, awarded to cities such as Durham
that have demonstrated progressive thinking and a commitment to embrace
change.  

 

For the study, six IBM staff members with expertise in finance,
technology, and management, spent most of February 2012 living in Durham
and interviewing approximately 80 residents, officials, and community
leaders.  The team presented its initial findings in March and has
submitted a more comprehensive report, now available on the City's
website at http://DurhamNC.gov/ich/cmo/Documents/ibm_scc_report.pdf. 

 

Durham was one of 33 cities named as recipients of IBM's Smarter Cities
challenge grants in 2012. Launched in 2011, this three-year $50 million
program for 100 U.S. cities is IBM's single largest philanthropic
initiative. It funds in-person engagements staffed by teams of top IBM
experts who study and then make detailed recommendations addressing
locally important urban issues.

 

"We thank the City of Durham for the hospitality shown to the IBM team
that visited earlier this year," said Steven Pearson, a North
Carolina-based manager for IBM's Corporate Citizenship & Corporate
Affairs group.  "We hope that the recommendations that our team prepared
will be useful in helping to making Durham as vibrant and successful as
it can be. We congratulate the city's leadership for its forward
thinking and commitment to innovation."

 

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